As is well known, carriages or strollers utilized to carry infants typically comprise a basket-like seat disposed in a frame supported by three or four wheels. Generally, these devices are designed to be pushed along at no more than a walking speed on relatively smooth surfaces such as pavement, and are therefore fitted with small diameter wheels and frame members having strength and resilience properties which limit their application to these conditions. For those who have infant children it is oftentimes desirable, such as for purposes of convenience, to take the infant along while engaging in running or jogging activities. As such, there exists a need for an infant stroller adapted to roll at jogging or running speeds on a variety of running surfaces typically utilized by joggers, such as unpaved trails, lawn areas and beaches. In recognition of this need, it is heretofore known in the prior art to provide a stroller with a lightweight frame supported by larger diameter wheels fitted with pneumatic tires as depicted in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 297,525 issued to Bacchler. It has been found, however, that while such a device is adapted for the jogging conditions described above, it is limited in utility in that it is too large, even when made collapsible, to fit into most automobile trunks (when folded or collapsed these devices extend into a more elongate configuration which is too long to fit within an automobile trunk). This lack of stowability for transport particularly reduces the utility of such devices in that it is often desirable to take them along for use at destinations such as camping sites or otherwise necessary to travel over distances by automobile to reach a desired jogging location such as a beach or trail.
In view of the above, there exists a substantial need in the art for an infant stroller device which is adapted both for use in the jogging applications described above and for compact stowage as in an automobile trunk.